Home » International Relations » India and its neighborhood » India-Sri Lanka relations » MAJOR CHALLENGES IN INDO-SRI LANKA RELATIONS
- China factor in India-Sri Lanka relation: In terms of being the platform for India-China strategic competition, Sri Lanka has endorsed China’s flagship connectivity project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is also, one of the important nodes for China’s maritime strategy.
- Lack of bipartition support to India-Sri Lanka ties soured precipitously when Mahindra Rajapaksha leased the strategically significant port of Hambantota to China, an issue highly sensitive toIndia.
- Ethnic issue: It is the prolonged conflict between the Sinhala majority and Tamil minority in Sri Lanka that has severely undermined bilateral ties in recent decades. The issue also involves war-crimes probe and accountability issues in SriLanka.
- Fishing Disputes: Given the proximity of the territorial waters of both countries, especially in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar, incidents of straying of fishermen are common.
